


Our Only Hope

by hermioneclone



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Background Character Death, Gen, Old Friends, Snark, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 06:21:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5774944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hermioneclone/pseuds/hermioneclone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Help us, Luke Skywalker, you’re our only hope."</p><p>Picks up where "The Force Awakens" ends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Only Hope

**Author's Note:**

  * For [My eternal roommate](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=My+eternal+roommate).



> This fic is dedicated to my eternal roommate on her birthday. <3 There was supposed to be more whiny Luke, but apparently living on an island in the middle of nowhere makes you grow up. Rude.

“Master Skywalker?” the girl asked tentatively, holding out a lightsaber. His lightsaber. He felt the familiar tug towards the weapon, but resisted the temptation to coax it from her.

He held up a hand, not to manipulate her mind, although he could feel the sudden shift that was the girl readying her defenses in case he did just that. He wondered what she had already experienced, what instinctively elicited that reaction. “Please, call  me Luke. Everyone does.” He paused, sitting with his thoughts a moment. “Besides, I don’t think I’ve earned the title.”

The girl shrugs, clearly nervous but with a fierce determination that reminds him suddenly of Leia. “Your sister would disagree.”

Luke’s heart stuttered. So Leia had found the map, Leia had sent him this girl...after everything that had happened...she still turned to him. He didn’t quite understand why, after what he has cost her. What his mistakes continued to cost her. He could still feel the hole in the Force where Han had been for so long. “You know Leia?” he asked quietly, eyeing the girl carefully. An energy was radiating off the girl so powerfully that even Leia must have sensed it. He’d only ever felt Force energy this strong with her...or with his father. Could this girl dressed in hues of blues and greys really be…?

She nodded her head vigorously, a few strands of hair falling out of her buns. “She sent me with an Artoo unit-”

Joy like he hadn’t felt in years flooded through him. “Artoo is with you?” he asked, barely able to contain the excitement in his voice, his eyes crinkling into a grin. He could feel Chewie as well; it was easier to sense living beings than it was to locate droids without setting one’s mind to it.

“Yes, General Organa sent him.” Luke felt his lips twitch. It was still strange to hear Leia called general. In his mind’s eye, she was still the nineteen year old Senator from Alderaan he rescued from the Death Star. Perhaps it was because despite accumulating incredible power, she retained that purity of intention and righteousness that had driven her in her youth. “She gave him a message from her. She also said that he was yours. As was this, I believe?” She gestured towards him with the hilt of the lightsaber, arm still outstretched.

“Keep it, for now,” Luke instructed softly, watching the girl clip it to her belt almost without looking. Musing, he walked towards the edge of the cliff, gazing down the steps to see the achingly familiar sight of the Falcon. Chewie was a brown speck next to it, Artoo barely a glimmer. The absence of a third speck made Han’s loss more profound, a knife twisted in the already painful wound. Lifting an arm, he waved to his friends. The brown spot moved in response. Luke wasn’t sure if he could face Chewie right now. This too was his fault. But those emotions could wait. There was a reason Leia had sent the girl.

“I bet he couldn’t make it up all of the steps,” he chuckled fondly. Letting his eyes slip closed, Luke held out his hand, letting himself go into the Force to pull Artoo upwards, just as Master Yoda had taught him all of those years ago on Dagobah. A small smile crept to his face at the droid’s indignant squeal, but he didn’t let the noise alter his concentration. After a long few moments, he opened his eyes as Artoo’s wheels touched the ground. “Hello, old friend,” Luke greeted softly. “I hear you have a message for me.”

 _No, I have a message for Luke Skywalker,_ Artoo beeped.

“What are you talking about? Artoo, it’s me! It’s Luke.” He didn’t miss the nervous look the girl was casting him.

 _Luke doesn’t have an ugly beard,_ Artoo chirped shortly.

“I do not have an ugly beard,” Luke huffed.

 _How do you know, I don’t see any mirrors._ The girl snorted in amusement, though she quickly turned it into an entirely unconvincing cough.

“The ocean works well enough,” he muttered.

 _How do I know that you’re not an imposter?_ the droid asked shrewdly.

“Oh, I see how it is. I pull you out of the swamps of Dagobah and this is the repayment I get?”

_I still have rust from that, you know._

“Ah, so you admit it’s me?”

_Sadly. I never even told Threepio about that. Oh, the humiliation._

Luke huffed, a mixture of annoyance and amusement. “What’s up with you anyway? You’re usually only like this with Threepio.”

_Maybe I don’t like being left behind._

Luke sighed heavily. “You know why I did.”

_I still maintain that it was a stupid reason._

“Come, I have a feeling that time is of the essence. Show me Leia’s message.”

 _If you insist,_ Artoo replied with a hint of exasperation. A beam of blue light shot out of Artoo and a hologram of Leia stood on the grassy earth. She looked old, so much older than the last time he had seen her. Lines of sadness etched into her face, even if her eyes still held their natural fire. “Luke. I hope this message finds you well. A lot has happened since you left. I don’t know if you felt it, but Han is...dead.” She took a deep, steadying breath before continuing. “Ben did it,” she continued in a quiet, almost resigned voice. “What he’s become, at least. I’m alright, but I’d be better if you were here. We need you, Luke. And so does Rey. That’s why I’ve sent her to you. She needs to be trained. I know you will say that you are not up to the task, but you’re wrong.” Leia looked up, her hologram eyes meeting his own, as if she knew exactly where he would be standing. It felt like she was seeing right through him. His heart ached. A wry smile crossed over her face. “Help us, Luke Skywalker, you’re our only hope. I hope our paths cross again, and soon. May the Force be with you, brother.” Leia’s image distorted and vanished as the message came to an end. Luke stared at the spot where she had stood for several minutes before turning to the girl.

“Rey, is it?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Rey what?”

“Just Rey.”

Luke smiled. “Well, ‘Just Rey’. Let’s get to work.”


End file.
